Take the opening credits from Mad Men, add a dash of James Bond, sprinkle with generous helpings of Canabalt and serve. The Button Affair is an excellent auto-runner steeped in style and variety, far too good to be free and yet it is (presumably due to its short length). You should most certainly go and play it, discover that you enjoy it greatly, and then give a donation to its chosen charity, Special Effect. (more…)

With just a week left on the clock, I’m honestly surprised that the Death Inc Kickstarter has had such a muted response. It looks just like the sort of thing that should fly. Anyway, there’s a couple more videos for you to raise an eyebrow at, one showing multiplayer, and the other showing a few developer chums of Ambient (Sean Murray, Molyneux) talking about their interest in the game.

This seems like something that must have happened before… Deja vu! Anyway, this is also one of those games you should play before it (as will presumably happen since this doesn’t seem to be anything to do with Konami) it gets taken off-line and/or rebranded six months later as something else. Bombermine is a browser version of Bomberman with 1000 people online on vast, regenerating maps. Just put your name in and jump in. I’m playing it right now! Bomb me up.

Drop A Beat, Giuseppe! sort of reminds me of Frog Fractions. Admittedly, there’s hardly any overlap in subject matter or genre(s), but the hilariously unhinged epic’s spirit is alive and well in this one. Without spoiling too much, the “worst pianist to date” simulator seems> to be about mashing out cat-shriek-level tunes in order to gingerly hop left and right, avoiding the slings, arrows, and puffer fish of outrageously pissed-off concert-goers in the process. To be honest, that was kind of wonderful (if very short-lived) in itself, but then I found more.

The original Bit.Trip Runner was a very mean game. In fact, it managed to be downright merciless in places, causing me to angrily fling clumpy tangles of hair at my monitor (aka, the wild Nathan’s natural defense/temper tantrum mechanism). But it sure sounded nice. Earning those chirpy grooves kept me plunging ever onward, until the inevitable end. Just kidding. It got too hard and I gave up. But in hindsight, I really wish I hadn’t. So I intend to rectify that mistake by testing the fleshliest parts of my skull against the inevitable brick wall that is Bit.Trip Presents… Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. Based on appearances (and, er, that name), I’m expecting levels of whimsy that top even the original’s rainbow-emblazoned sprint. I should probably dye my rage hair in preparation.

When Sega plucked Relic from the ashes of THQ last month, it appears they didn’t get the Homeworld license along with it. So for now the sublime space RTS series remains without a home, in an odd case of life imitating art. The Homeworld IP is now up for sale in an auction of THQ’s remaining stuff – as is the likes of Supreme Commander, Red Faction, Darksiders, Titan Quest, Full Spectrum Warrior and a whole host of names known and forgotten. (more…)

Gabe Newell hasn’t been particularly sweet on Steam Greenlight as of late, but the fully open Steam of tomorrow hasn’t supplanted its “dictatorial” ways just yet. Instead, the mighty user-driven machine trundles on, streamlining the process where it can and rhythmically opening its jaw each month to crunch down whatever creative morsels we offer up. So then, what’s on the menu this time around? Well, semi-big-names certainly top the list, but it’s not without a couple enticing curiosities.

I’ve had to talk a couple friends down from grievously harming themselves before. Inner Vision doesn’t exactly> capture what it’s like – the lucid panic, the dreamlike slowness of time, the feeling that every word must be measured for glacial ages and flickering milliseconds - but it hits on a core message that’s absolutely crucial: listen. While Actual Sunlight brilliantly captured the brutal solitude complete hopelessness brings, Inner Vision turns things around. You’re giving those teetering on the brink someone to confide in. The actual exchanges are a bit stilted and simplistic, but the feelings they evoke are far too important to miss out on.